by Dennis Paddie

Hello. My name is Dennis Paddie. I was born in a little hamlet in Arkansas called Sardis. I came to Austin in 1965 to train for the Peace Corps. And in the course of living here o...

by Levi Wade

My name is Levi Wade. I am from Harrison, Arkansas. So the town I’m from, Harrison, Arkansas, there’s an active KKK outside of the town. And I remember specifically when I was...

by Carey Benedict

I have always known I was a lesbian. I remember being in fourth grade, and thinking, “Wait…but she’s a girl…and I’m a girl. But I like her.” At the time it was a reall...

by Jake Halbert

I was just a typical five-year-old kid on the playground, like many others, with no particular direction in life, or so I thought. That was, until I wanted to be involved in an in...

by Nalley Smith

Today’s Video Story was collected on the 50-state Story Tour. Check out the blog where you can read about the adventure we had and some of the stories we collected. If you havMy name is Nalley Smith and I’m from Benton, Arkansas. I’m a member and the former president of Prism, which is the GSA at the University of Central Arkansas. We do a lot of e...

by Luke Harlan

Today’s Video Story was collected on the 50-state Story Tour. Check out the blog where you can read about the adventure we had and some of the stories we collected. If you havMy name is Luke Harlan, I’m from Fayetteville, Arkansas. Fayetteville is this town-smallish town it’s grown a lot, – but it’s nestled in the Ozark Mountains in Northwest A...

by Jeremy Craig

Today’s Video Story was collected on the 50-state Story Tour. Check out the blog where you can follow us on our adventure. If you haven’t submitted a story yet to IFD, or ifI’m Jeremy Craig and I’m from Mayflower, Arkansas. I really just sort of grew up in a bubble not knowing gay people. And then when I came out in college I became a slut. And f...

by Matt H.

I came out to my family only three years ago. I grew up in a very small town and was very afraid to tell anyone, due to the mindset of people at school and my religious upbringing...

by Spencer Smith

Right now I am sitting in the kitchen by myself; I have not spoken a single word in over two hours. My family is sitting in the room directly across from me – I can see their ba...